In releasable strap connectors of the type shown in Pat. Nos. 3,183,568, 3,330,014, 3,541,651, 3,541,650, 3,659,322 and 3,744,103 each granted to John A. Gaylord, the safety device for the operating bar or shaft is a safety lever which prevents the pulling of the hand lever for turning of the oscillating bar into unobstructing position for releasing the prong of the male member. The previous structures were reasonably safe to resist vibration and other stresses to which such strap connectors are subjected, but when used for the straps of a canopy or parachute, the present forcible method of ejection of the personnel from an airplane creates a sudden momentary shock which, when exerting a sudden force to pull the risers of the parachute taut, could release the locking lever and thereby drop the person from his parachute and cause a fatal accident.
The primary feature of this invention is the positive locking of the locking lever into a groove which has locking pockets both in the locking and releasing positions and provision is made even for a sudden momentary shock, whereby the locking pins riding in said groove will not travel from locking to the releasing position accidentally under even the most sudden of stresses, and prevent fatal accidents.